Yeah forgive me if I feel a creeping sense of dread and foreboding about this one.
From a UK non-profit called "Wellcome":
Wellcome is providing £10 million funding to the new Synthetic Human Genome Project (SynHG) to develop the foundational tools, technology and methods to enable researchers to one day synthesise genomes.
Building a full synthetic human genome is expected to take decades. Over the next five years, the SynHG project will build the foundational tools to enable this work.
The "ability to synthesize large genomes, including genomes for human cells, may transform our understanding of genome biology and profoundly alter the horizons of biotechnology and medicine," one researcher claimed.
Pretty sure we've heard that sort of thing before.
Remember, for instance, that years ago IVF was touted as a sort of salvific last-ditch effort for women with chronic fertility issues who are desperate to conceive. And now it's become a luxury consumer tool that creates and destroys countless innocent babies every year so that aging Millennials can have the children they put off having for 25 years.
And don't forget that even existing DNA technology has been used to bizarre, likely morally reprehensible ends:
Seems like most of the time scientists try to play God, they discover they're really, really, really bad at it.
Oh, did I mention that Wellcome is super woke? They even have the updated Pride flag in their profile pic!!
Don't worry though, the scientists assure us they're taking the whole ethics thing totally seriously:
With SynHG, we are building the tools to make large genome synthesis a reality. At the same time, we are proactively engaging in the social, ethical, economic and policy questions that may arise as the tools and technologies advance.
During the course of the work the researchers will "engage with people from a range of sectors, communities and geographies, as well as regulatory bodies and policy makers."
Yeah my money's on this being used to bad ends. Call me crazy (or just a good student of history).
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